Posted on 12/02/2010 11:59:19 AM PST by mlizzy
Father Tom Euteneuer, former president of Human Life International and author of a book on exorcism that was pulled off the market not long after it was published and promoted (including in this column), has seemingly "disappeared." As my regular readers will know, I've quoted Father Euteneuer often over the last few years. But in news that surprised even me, HLI announced in late August that Father was stepping down as HLI president.
Father was quoted as saying: "I have been utterly privileged to serve this great mission for a decade, and now I am called back to my diocese [by the bishop] to continue my priestly service in parish work, which was the original calling of my vocation. I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point."
In addition to his rather abrupt departure from HLI, Father's book Exorcism and the Church Militant, which was being promoted by HLI in July, was essentially pulled from circulation not long ago, a vague reason given for doing so.
Strange, if you ask me.
In the months leading up to the book's publishing, I had sought, and obtained, permission to reprint in this column the book's entire Introduction. Given the circumstances, I decided it was best to have that particular column removed from RenewAmerica.
I've never heard from Father since all this transpired, and e-mails to three officials of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Father's home diocese, have gone unanswered. In my e-mail to those officials, I simply asked if Father Euteneuer is indeed a priest in good standing with the diocese. It's certainly easy enough for at least one of them to respond: "Yes, Mr. Abbott, Father Euteneuer is a priest in good standing here in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Thank you."
But, alas, I've heard nothing. Crickets.
I do know this: There's "more to the story," and whatever transpired is not the result of a bishop's persecution. There are at least a few individuals who know the whole story, but, right now, they're not willing, or able, to divulge the details. Perhaps they don't want me, or anyone else, to pursue the matter. Well, that doesn't sit well with me.
I hope to find out more in the coming weeks. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
The author seems to have gotten a little above himself. No, more than a little.What do you mean by that tax-chick? The author spoke with Euteneuer fairly frequently, and so many people are now very concerned about him.
Cutie freely chose to violate his vows, reject the Sacrament of Penance, leave the Church and become a protestant. He could have repented, accepted responsibility for what he did, expiated his sins and stayed but he allowed his libido to do his thinking.
By the way, if anyone wants a copy of Fr. Euteneuer’s book, I have a few new paperbacks left. FReepmail me, if so. I can ship out the book anywhere in the US for $30.
Interestingly, the commenter mentioned above also spoke of some sort religious order in the Diocese of Omaha called “The Intercessors of the Lamb”. This order, or group, or whatever, specialized in Deliverance Ministry (praying for - and with - people with demonic problems who don't require a full exorcism), and they were also into the Catholic Charismatic movement.
This group had been around the Diocese for many years. They were at the point where they were requesting that their Bishop grant them full recognition status (or whatever it is called) within their Diocese. They had apparently been on good terms with their previous Bishop(s). However, it seems there was a relatively new Bishop, who had issues with the group (for whatever reason - I do not know if they were valid reasons or not). Hence, rather than “regularizing” the group, he instead began an official investigation of them. The Intercessors of the Lamb then apparently rebelled against the investigators, which caused the Bishop to subsequently suppress and disbanded them. Not quite the outcome the Intercessors were hoping for.
Father Euteneur apparently had friendly relations with the Intercessors of the Lamb in the past, and thought highly of them. Someone mentioned on-line somewhere that he makes favorable mention of the group in his recent book (perhaps both recent books). It seems that this group was suppressed, and Father Enteneur stepped down, at about the same time (relatively speaking). A coincidence perhaps. Who knows?? Perhaps someone else can shed some light upon this.
I have both of Father Euteneurs recent books, and have read them. However, I have not looked back through them to see if they contain references to The Intercessors of the Lamb.
Either way, Father Euteneur’s book is no longer in print. A few outlets have some copies left (Amazon did the last time I checked, but they noted that the book is out of print, and that they had limited copies left). The commenter mentioned above also stated that HLI does not want to be in the business of promoting exorcism. He also states that if the book were to be republished, a few changes would need to be made. Seems odd that a book was published, only to go out of print within a few months of it's publication.
From reading the book “The Rite”, I also know that priests who are exorcists are considered to be oddballs by a large percentage of their fellow priests - who consider themselves to be too enlightened and sophisticated to believe in such outdated rituals. Much of the Catholic Church has been overrun by Liberals, and they don't think too kindly of Conservative, Orthodox priests, much less exorcists. Hence, if Father Euteneur had been getting more and more into exorcism, perhaps this fact got him into some hot water with someone. Again, who knows??
Either way, here is a link to the article with the relevant comment. Look for the comment by a poster named “Tom” on October 17:
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=38026
In addition, here is a link to an article about the Intercessors of the Lamb being suppressed by their Bishop:
http://www.spiritdaily.com/intercessorsupheaval.htm
All of this is "for what it is worth", which may not be much. It is just what I have found poking around on the Web.
6) Somebody wanted him to shut up.I think you're right.
Fr. Marx deja vu? Did Fr. Euteneuer leave HLI, or was he "pushed out"? His recent book on exorcism has been "discontinued" From the Spirit Daily article on the suppression of the Intercessors of the Lamb, "TUMULT ERUPTS AS OMAHA BISHOP SHUTS DOWN ORDER AND EX-HEAD ALLEGES 'DRASTIC ACTION'" (http://www.spiritdaily.com/intercessorsupheaval.htm): We live in interesting, topsy-turvy times. ... In a development that had no apparent connection [with the suppression of the Intercessors of the Lamb], it was also announced last week that a book by Father Thomas Euteneuer, the former head of the large pro-life group, Human Life International, will be discontinued. The book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, which ironically lauded the Intercessors, was in wide circulation. Weeks before, Father Euteneuer left the organization when he was recalled to his home diocese after a reported controversy. A spokesman for HLI told Spirit Daily that the organization simply decided it was not its role to promote material on exorcism. "There was no problem fatal to the book," said the spokesman, Stephen Phelan, adding however that had it been reprinted, several changes would have been necessary. Limited copies remain available through Ignatius Press. (There's also commentary from the author of this post --Matt Abbott-- under Tom's.) Link
Forget about the book.Most times they are on R&R and everyone lips are sealed.
I mean that the author is taking Father Euteneuer’s decision not to discuss his circumstances publicly as a personal affront to his perceived status, like a teenage girl who missed a hot bit of gossip.
Does anyone have evidence that Father E. has been kidnapped by evil forces and is being restrained, incommunicado, against his will? If so, such person should contact the police. Kidnapping and forcible restraint are illegal. In all other possible circumstances, whether he is being treated justly or unjustly, he has chosen to remain silent or to communicate only with people who are keeping his confidence.
The Hostile Spiritual Takeover of Our Nation
May 22nd, 2010 by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer
Anyone who has watched national politics closely in the past year and a half has seen a panoply of aggressive political moves that are reported about in hostile terms. There are government “takeovers” of huge industries, public officials “moving against” businesses and individuals, court decisions “striking down” statutes and executive initiatives “attacking” fundamentally sane institutions and plans. Even in times of war, I don’t think we have ever had such violent social and political maneuvering in our public life. The worst aspect of it is that all the rapaciousness is directed inward. If we were laying waste the enemies of the innocent citizens of our society in the same way we are consuming our own healthy institutions, how different our public life would be! The current hostile initiatives are nothing of the sort, however. They are essentially demonic takeovers of sacred institutions by the pagans who hold the reins of power...
...But what did we expect, really? Our nation elected unabashedly pagan representatives who are possessed of a tapestry of unclean ideologies who have an almost religious fervor in advancing their control over greater sectors of our common life and economy. The sad part is that these people who govern us are simply being true to their convictions: before the election, they were not abashed in telling us how radical they are, and now we are reaping the fruits of the demonic agenda of the death and destruction that they have brought with them.
I would despair of this situation had I not met so many decent and God-fearing Americans who do not agree with the mainstreaming of paganism into our culture. I have met the virtuous side of America, and it is to these that I write these words of encouragement: be strong! We must be true to the core Christian principles that made this nation great! Be not afraid of the severe conflicts with the pagan world that we will have to endure in the very near future. We are not alone in this battle. There are many more moral and decent Americans than we realize. It’s just that the good ones are busy about raising families and keeping the basic fabric of our society intact. They are not the hedonists and manipulators that strive obsessively to control public discourse and institutions. They are there in the background and form the true foundation of our society...
I never that knew a Catholic priest could talk like that!
We Don't Believe You, Mr. President [Fr. Euteneuer "on fire"]
Human Life International | 6-4-10 | Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer
Dear President Obama,
Every citizen with a modicum of insight into public affairs would say that America is now at a crossroads of decision about what kind of future we want for our nation-and, by extension, for the rest of the world. Whether we like it or not, you are the one who is designated by a vote of the electorate to lead us in that decision-making process. You have asked for the job, and you have proposed yourself as being competent for it. History will judge your Administration on its own merits when your term is complete, but we, the citizens of this country, must judge it for what we see happening before our very eyes. Quite frankly, the picture isn't pretty, and you haven't earned our respect as a leader.
The reason for this, Mr. President, is that we can't believe what you say, and frankly, what you do is utterly unbelievable at times.
The recent Gulf Coast oil spill disaster is indicative of your utter carelessness with the onerous burden of governance. Not only did you dis the families of the 11 workers killed in the disaster, but you also attended fundraisers in CA, a trip to the golf course and several state parties in the White House during the whole time the Governor of Louisiana has been screaming frantically for your attention. How can you expect us to believe that you were actually "in charge" of handling the disaster? In six weeks we have seen hardly a shred of evidence to convince us of that. A leader who says he is in charge of something and then conducts a systematic campaign of blaming, dodging, obfuscating, ignoring and even now prosecuting the others involved - instead of fixing the problem - will hardly go down in the record books as the savior he proposed himself to be when he was elected. You are the Commander-in-Chief who has gone AWOL on a truly national crisis.
On top of all that, you basically blew off a sacred national holiday, Memorial Day, for the sake of a vacation to gangsterland. That slap in the face to our military men and women was not lost on anyone, nor was the narcissistic disregard for American history or anything other than what fits your extreme political agenda. These are appalling traits for the one who holds the highest political office in our land, and only a fawning and dishonest media allows you to get away with this negligence in office.
Speaking of which, what are we to make of your pathetic excuse for the crime of attempting to bribe Congressman Sestak to bow out of the Senate race against Arlen Specter? Do you really think Americans believe the utterly implausible story about offering him a "non-paying" position on some presidential panel? Your Administration's explanation, issued on the afternoon of a holiday weekend, rings hollow, and everyone knows it. "Hollow" is an adequate word to describe your Administration, your political theatre and your rhetoric. Even some of your staunchest ideological supporters admit that it is getting increasingly hard to believe that you mean anything you say.
In the midst of all this domestic incompetence and dishonesty, we have seen no realistic response to North Korean, Iranian or Turkish aggression on the world scene. Foreign politicians know you are a leftist lightweight, and so we can expect more of the same from the rogue nations of the world, further destabilizing the security of our nation and the world. We have, however, seen you and your inept band of political marauders pander to foreign dictators and exploit the Mexican President to abuse us and our national deliberations on serious issues. We have seen your ideological hacks take over whole industries, plunder the private sector, abuse the good will of states and consume sound American institutions as if they were your enemies and with a ferocity that would befit only those who we would call our true national enemies.
Like the Gulf oil spill, your Administration is out of control, and every day is another step closer to disaster. As the oil continues to pollute, kill and damage the external beauty and economy of a whole region, you and your team are doing the same with the trust of the people who built this great country.
We deserve better, Mr. President, and it's time you start doing your job.
Sincerely,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
President, Human Life International
Are you suggesting the possibility that the president is involved somehow in Fr. Euteneuer's dismissal and book halting?Not necessarily, it could be purely secular politics, someone in the hierarchy deciding that this was entirely too partisan a take on things and teach him that Democrats have friends as well ("I'll get you and your little book too!*cackle,cackle*").
Frankly though, if it wasn't for Mr. Abbot's explicit denial I would say that this has the "smoke of Satan" written all over it.
I clicked on the link and watched as much of the video as I could stand to. I could not stand to listen to Sean Hannity disrespecting (trying to cut off and talking over) that Catholic priest the way he did.
I do not care what Sean Hannity’s religious background is - you cannot have the love of God in you and be able to treat a Catholic Priest like that.
I should mention that I was raised a Catholic by my Mother - who is still at 81 a devout Catholic - But that I am not one now.
It is a long story that I think it is best I not go into here.
However, I am interested in other people’s life views and experiences - and I see in Father Tom Euteneuer a brave man who is not afraid to speak the truth.
I hope that Father Euteneuer is alright.
May the Peace of the Lord be with you.
Distressing. Prayers up for Father E.
FYI, Hannity is a devout Cafeteria Catholic.
“Are you suggesting the possibility that the president is involved somehow in Fr. Euteneuer’s dismissal and book halting?”
Obama? The Chicago gangster, the muslim, the pal of Ayers, the devotee of Rev. Wright, the narcissist, the robber of the American people, the advocate of late-term abortion, the man who has relatives in Kenya that sacrifice chickens to the gods? I have no problem at all believing it. It would take but a few calls from the White House to the corrupt Catholic Hierarchy in this country.
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